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Actually the last time I priced them out, MacBook pros tend to compare favorably with similarly featured Windows laptops so there isn't really an Apple premium. Of course, you do have to compare similarly featured laptops, not the el cheapo ones that are slower and use a couple of generation older chip sets. Where Apple tends to jack up the price is with memory. You can get memory a lot cheaper elsewhere. Fortunately, most Apple laptops and iMacs are up-gradable by the user.
Right now, we are seeing incremental changes in laptops and desktops, just like we have been seeing for a number of years. Most people won't see a measurable difference in models over the space of 3 or 4 years. The biggest difference is that laptops are getting smaller and not as heavy. We are also seeing solid state disks and improved screens.
Tim Cook is a supply side guy, not a consumer guy. I have my doubts about him really understanding why people buy Apple products. Steve Jobs got it. Tim Cook, not so much.
He's hanging Apple's fortunes on services. It can work though I am highly skeptical of their upcoming video service.
I saw a good analysis of the TV app that is on the iPad, iPhone and Apple TV devices, soon to be out on Windows devices. Consumers really need an app that is going to tie all their streaming services together. Apple's TV app could be that app. Unfortunately, all the streaming services are more interested in grabbing every penny they can, so no one is cooperating with anyone else. It's really too bad.
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